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Yankees' Adams making strides with Scorpions

Yankees' Adams making strides with Scorpions

2012 MLB.com Top Prospects: David Adams has the kind of polish to hit .300 and get on base, but struggled with injuries

By Don Ketchum
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Special to MLB.com |

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- All of a sudden, the New York Yankees are looking old, brittle and unproductive.

After being swept by the Detroit Tigers in the American League Championship Series and stretched to five games by the Baltimore Orioles in the A.L. Division Series, perhaps it's time for an infusion of new blood.

That would be fine with David Adams. The infielder likely would be one player on whom the Yankees would call. All he needs to do now is show he is healthy and play with consistency.

The 25-year-old has been doing just that with the Arizona Fall League's Scottsdale Scorpions.

He was named the AFL's Player of the Week for Week 5, the second straight week a Yankees prospect has been honored. Scorpions outfielder Slade Heathcott earned the award in Week 4.

Last week, Adams hit three home runs and batted .571. He also had a triple, drove in six runs, scored four times and amassed 17 total bases.

Through the AFL's first five weeks, he was hitting .261 with nine runs scored, six doubles, a triple, three home runs and 14 RBIs with a .363 on-base percentage.

The 6-foot-1, 205-pound Adams, who was the Yankees' third-round selection out of the University of Virginia in the 2008 First-Year Player Draft, also was the starting second baseman for the East Division in the AFL's Rising Stars Game on Nov. 3.

"Things have been going well, but I'm still not doing as well as I would like," he said before a road game against the Surprise Saguaros on Monday as Week 6 began.

Still, he said, "I was ecstatic to have been given the opportunity to play in this league by the Yankees."

Adams broke his right ankle sliding into a base in 2010 and was limited to 39 games for Double-A Trenton. He played in a combined 29 games in 2011 for the Gulf Coast League Yankees and Class A Advanced Tampa in 2011, and rebounded with a solid campaign for Trenton in 2012.

"I hadn't played a full season in two years. My ankle was uncomfortable in spurts, off and on. I would do well for a week or so, then not do as well," he said. "But I started getting the feeling back getting into a good routine and now I am healthy. I am feeling good."

He is listed as a second baseman, but there are some who think he could be a potential replacement for Alex Rodriguez at third were he and the Yankees to part ways.

Adams might not be quite ready to make that jump just yet. He played 42 games at second base in 2012 and 23 at third when not serving as a designated hitter.

After the regular season ended, Adams went home to Florida for nearly two weeks where he spent time with his wife and played with his family's three cats and a dog. Adams came to the AFL with renewed energy and vowed not to chase his own tail. He was going to be productive.

"I've been trying to prepare every day like it's the regular season," he said. "I get in the [batting] cage, fine-tune my hitting approach. I'd say I'm a gap-to-gap, line-drive hitter. I try not to do too much.

"I've also been working a lot on my defense, just trying to be as ready as I can when Spring [Training] comes."

Don Ketchum is a contributor to MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.